


A San Francisco Summer

by ev_soul14



Category: Inside Out (2015)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Heartbreak, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Self-Esteem Issues, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 05:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15112712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ev_soul14/pseuds/ev_soul14
Summary: Some months later, it's the beginning of summer in San Francisco. Riley's first summer away from Minnesota. She begs her parents to let her go to hockey camp so she wouldn't be alone for two months. After they reluctantly agree, it's the catalyst for the hardest road Riley has ever been on-running into a former friend. What happens after that will change everything.





	A San Francisco Summer

Hey, Joy here! I’m usually in charge here at Headquarters, but sometimes the others take the reigns because life is not always about being happy. At least, Riley’s life anyway. We’ve had some bumps in the road, but that’s okay! We can always work to find a solution for our girl. After all, Riley is 12 now. What could go wrong?

* * *

 

"Joy, what's the plan for today?" Fear asked as he watched the bright emotion get Riley through the morning routine.

"It's the last day of school! We're gonna have fun!"

"But not too much fun," Sadness added. "We're gonna miss all our friends. They're going away to summer camp and Mom and Dad won't let us go."

"Ugh, we'll be stuck with Mom and Dad all summer," Disgust complained, rolling her eyes.

"So what if summer camp is so far away?" Anger grumbled from the couch. His newspaper read **Summer Camp Is A Bust! Left Behind!** "No bedtimes, eat as much dessert as you want, and best of all, no parents. What's wrong with that?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll still be a good summer," Joy assured everyone. "There's plenty for us to do!"

"Like what?" Anger asked suspiciously.

"Um...I'm sure we'll think of something."

"So Riley, are you excited for your last day of school?" Dad was suddenly visible. "Oh yeah, I can't wait for summer. We could go to the pool, or the park..." Family Island was running strong. Joy nodded to herself. "About that, kiddo. I'm sorry you can't go to summer camp with your friends." Sadness took over at that moment. A despondent look came over Riley's face.

"I really wanted to go...it's not fair." "Well, your mom and I came up with an even better idea. How about hockey camp?" Joy was quick to take the wheel. Riley was elated at the prospect of hockey camp. She could make new friends and she wouldn't feel so left out.

"That sounds awesome! Thanks Dad!" Riley hugged him tightly.

 

* * *

 

At school, everything was chaos. There was no hope of anyone paying attention to the teacher, so a movie was put on. Riley doodled in her notebook, a habit she had picked up over the last few months since adjusting to her time in San Francisco. This time, she was trying to draw a bunny she glimpsed in the movie that was on. She couldn't get the ears right and it was starting to frustrate her. Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Riley jumped to her feet, relieved school was finally over.

"Yes!" She darted out of the classroom. Summer camp was just minutes away. She spotted Jordan hanging out with a few of his friends outside of the school, not too far from the bus stop. She was certain Jordan had a crush on her, but she wasn't sure how she felt about him yet and was holding him at a distance for the time being.

"H...Hi Riley," Jordan mumbled to her shoes. "H...Have a good summer."

"Thanks. You too!" She paused. "Are you going to hockey camp?"

"Uh..."

"It's okay. I'll see you later!" Riley got on the bus when it arrived, not giving him another thought. Her mind drifted to the thrills summer camp would have to offer.  Would it be all girls? Or would boys be there too? What kinds of activities would they have? Would they hike? Make crafts? Riley wanted to do it all. She was bouncing around in her seat as the bus rolled to a halt at her house. She waved goodbye to the bus driver and ran up to the front door. It was locked, but she remembered where the key was. Moments later, she was entering the house to both of her parents home.

"Hey Riley! How was school?"

"Good! Hey Mom, when does hockey camp start?"

"That was supposed to be a surprise, sweetie." She glared at her husband, who shrugged innocently in response. "Never mind that. Your father and I only just got the brochure yesterday. We haven't signed you up yet or anything."

"Oh...okay." Disappointment made her shoulders sag. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. She should've known better to think that her first summer in San Francisco would be a good one.

Riley headed for her room. Her parents were now distracted with a matter that had nothing to do with her. She laid on her bed and tried to think of someone that would want to hang out with her this summer. There was Jordan, but he was so awkward around her and it was hard to hold a conversation because he got nervous. There was Valarie, one of the "cool girls" but Riley wasn't even allowed near eyeshadow, let alone any makeup. There was no way she could be let near the group without at least knowing the difference between highlighting and blending. Camie was an option, but Riley didn't know where she lived and didn't even have her number yet. It looked like this summer was going to be a lonely one.

Meg hadn't talked to her since she cut off their conversation months ago. It was heartbreaking to know she had lost her best friend, all because she had moved. It wasn't her choice to go halfway across the country! But it happened, and she had to deal with it. She settled on her bed and opened her laptop. Riley was greeted with her current wallpaper: a picture of her and her old hockey team. Tears stung her eyes. She went into her photos and changed the wallpaper to a picture of her and the Foghorns celebrating a victory together.

* * *

 

"Man, we're still taking this hard," Joy commented. Riley had been crying for several minutes over a picture of Meg. "She was our friend for so long."

"Yup," Anger muttered.  **Moving On, Who Needs Friends Anyway?** was apparently his reading material for the moment.

"What do we do?" Fear wailed. "Are we gonna be alone forever?" Joy darted over to some light bulbs sitting in a cranny.

"I've got an idea! We'll get on Facebook and see if Camie is on there!" Joy put the light bulb in place and Riley took the idea at once. She opened up Facebook and typed in Camie's name into the search bar. Several results came up.

"Um, how are we supposed to find her?" Disgust rolled her eyes at the screen. "There are like, a million results here."

"There she is!" Joy pointed to a picture of a girl holding a hockey stick. She had a streak of pink in her black hair that hung down past her shoulders. She was grinning toothily, a bruise on her cheek. In her other hand was a trophy. Riley clicked on the "friend" button. A few minutes passed and Camie still hadn't accepted the request.

"She doesn't want to talk to us," Sadness moaned, about to go into one of her moods. She flopped onto the floor, prepared to cry for hours. But at that moment, the request was accepted and Camie had sent a message.

"Ooh! It worked! She's talking to us!" Joy was overcome with excitement.

"What do we do?? What do we do??" Fear ran around until Anger punched him in the side to get him to stop.

"Thank you, Anger." Joy nodded to him. "Back to Camie...let's see what she has to say..."

* * *

 

_Hi! Are you Riley from the hockey team?_

Riley stared at the screen for almost a full minute, debating on what to say.

**Yes. I wanted to ask you something.**

_Sure! Anything! :)_

**Are you going to the hockey camp out of town?**

_The one with the rock climbing and stuff? You know it! Why, are you thinking of going?_

**I don't know. My parents haven't even signed me up yet.**

_You've gotta convince them. It's four whole weeks of fun! You won't regret it._

**I'll try.**

_I gotta go, my mom wants me to take the dog for a walk. Talk later!_

The green circle next to her new friend's name switched to white, indicating Camie had gone offline. Riley sighed and shut her laptop. It was time to confront her parents about hockey camp. Anxiety flowed through her, but she couldn't let that get in the way of what she really wanted. If this summer was good, it would make up for the fact that she had moved away from everything she grew up knowing. Here in California, everything was different, from the weather to the way people sometimes spoke.

"No, this is still a good opportunity for us. We can't back out just because things are getting hard."

"Well, we've gotta do something if they're cutting your hours back."

"I'll get another job."

"No, you have enough on your plate. Let me get a job to help out."

"If you're sure..." Her parents looked up when they heard their only child enter the room. "Hey, kiddo. You hungry? I'll order us some pizza."

"Yeah. I'm starving!" Riley walked over to the table. "I really want to go to hockey camp."

"How about we make a deal?" Mom suggested. "If you get all your chores done today...we'll sign you up today."

"Hooray!" Riley ran over to her chore list for the day.

_**Riley's Chores!** _

_**Clean my room** _

_**Do the dishes** _

_**Vacuum the living room** _

_**Take out the trash** _

She raced up to her room and was quick to start tossing laundry into the basket and organizing anything that was out of place. She was so close to hockey camp that she could practically feel the skates back on her feet again. Once that was done, she moved on to the kitchen and scrubbed at plates and bowls. By the time she completed all her tasks, the pizza had arrived and her stomach was growling. She plopped into her seat, glad to see there was no broccoli to be seen on  _this_ pizza. She got herself two slices and was so focused on what she was eating that she didn't realize her parents were talking about her until she heard her own name.

"I don't want to stress Riley out. Let's just give her a good summer."

"What's going on, Mom?"

"Just finish your pizza, okay? We're working it out." Riley reluctantly did as she was told, deciding to put it out of her mind for the moment. Her parents seemed stressed, but that was alright. Once dinner was over, she sat with her parents and watched them fill out the paperwork for hockey camp. She was up the stairs and in her room before the ink was even dry. There was a new message waiting for her on her laptop. Camie wanted to talk again. Riley eagerly opened it.

_Hey, finally back! Sorry about that. So what did your parents say?_

**They said yes! I'm going to hockey camp! Best summer ever! :D**

_Awesome!!! I can't wait to see you!_

**When does it start?**

_Monday. Better get packing!_

Riley raced around her room, wondering what to take and how much. Four weeks was a long time. That was practically most of the summer! Clothes got wrinkled as she shoved them into a bag haphazardly. She soon had her bag stuffed full of everything she could possibly need. She zipped her bag up with difficulty. Packing finished, she wandered over to the mirror and found a photo of Meg that she had taped to it. She was overcome with emotion and started crying. Why didn't Meg like her anymore? They had been best friends. She had to contact her somehow and make things right.  _Maybe this time she'll answer me._ Meg's face took up her screen as she picked her name and called her. The phone rang for a painfully long time before going to voicemail.

"H...hey Meg, it's me, Riley. I...I'm sorry. About everything. I miss you." She hung up and flopped onto her bed, where she spent the next couple hours sobbing until she fell asleep in her clothes.  _I never got a chance to tell her the truth._

* * *

 

"Wha...truth about what?" Joy was confused. Her view of Riley's world went dark when the girl went to sleep. "A little early to be sleeping, but that's alright."

"Can I have Dream Duty tonight?" Sadness asked hesitantly.

"Sure, Sadness. See if you can find out what's going on in her head for us. Come on guys, let's go." Anger stared in disbelief at the blank viewing screen for a moment before following the other emotions into their small sleeping quarters.

It wasn't long before Riley started dreaming. Old memories of Meg were called up, but they were different. Riley was trying to tell Meg something, but kept getting brushed off or interrupted by something. Meg's image dissipated when the moving truck pulled in. This played on a loop several times before Sadness started to piece a few things together. Riley must've felt closer to Meg than Meg to her. But something didn't add up. There was something about the level of Riley's heartbreak that felt different than what Riley had felt about moving away from Minnesota. Sadness wandered over to the back window and gazed at the winding asiles of Long-Term Memory, as if she could somehow spot the clue from hundreds of feet away. The new manuals could probably help her. On nights she had Dream Duty, she meticulously went through each one. An old habit she kept from when she used to be ostracized by Joy.

Riley didn't feel important. She felt like she had been forgotten. Abandoned. Sadness picked up a manual and flipped through it, not noticing the dream had now changed to a nightmare.

_"What do you mean you liked Meg? In what way?"_

_"I...don't understand. Didn't you like Jordan?"_

Sadness put away the manual, hearing Riley's parents talk in the new dream.

_"I did..do like Meg. As...more than a friend. I think I like girls, Dad."_

_"You're no daughter of mine!"_ Everything in the viewing screen flashed red for a moment before Riley woke up. Sadness darted over to the console, allowing Riley to cry it out as the other emotions stumbled out of the sleeping quarters, having barely gotten a couple hours of sleep.

"What happened?" Joy yawned.

"Riley had a nightmare. I'll get her back to sleep."

"Ugh. You better," Disgust mumbled. Sadness turned back to her work.

"Let's get her calmed down, Sadness," Joy instructed. "I'm going back to bed."

"W-what was the nightmare?" Fear asked. He always had to know about Riley's fears. "Was it the basement again?"

"No. It was...something else." Sadness wasn't sure if she should tell the others what she had learned yet. She felt like it could wait until morning. "Riley is going back to sleep soon."

"Good," Anger huffed. "I hate having my sleep interrupted." He marched off with Disgust and Fear in tow. Once she was alone again, Sadness allowed Riley to stop crying on her own and fall asleep. Hopefully tomorrow, they could figure out what to do about Riley's feelings for Meg.

 

 


End file.
